Videos by American Songwriter
It’s been twenty years since musicians including Lou Reed, Lucinda Williams and Pearl Jam first rallied together to record Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams. The album, a fundraising benefit effort for, as the name suggests, Victoria Williams after her diagnosis with MS, soon evolved into the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, a full-fledged charity benefiting any and all musicians struggling with financial, health or age based issues. Focusing on the work of quadriplegic artist Vic Chetnutt, the organization released the follow-up Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation in 1996 to widespread international interest.
For their third compilation, Pennies From Heaven, the group has recruited the likes of Ben Harper, Jackson Browne, She & Him and Joseph Arthur, all of whom choose songs with themes of support and assistance (“How Did You Find Me Here?”, “With A Little Help From My Friends”). In anticipation of the September 3rd release date, Arthur, who recently finished his tenth studio album, The Ballad of Boogie Christ, performed a stripped down version of “If I Needed You” with accompaniment from Pearl Jam guitarist Jeff Ament.
Watch the Joseph Arthur performance and check out the track list for Sweet Relief III: Pennies From Heaven below.
1. “Pennies From Heaven” – Ron Sexsmith
2. “Brother Where Are You” – Shelby Lynne
3. “Big Spender” – Sam Phillips
4. “How Did You Find Me Here” – k.d. lang
5. “Crazy Love” – Ben Harper
6. “Heart of Gold” – Genevieve Toupin
7. “If I Needed You” – Joseph Arthur
8. “Surfer Girl” – Rickie Lee Jones
9. “With A Little Help From My Friends” – Tina Schlieske
10. “Change Is Gonna Come” – Victoria Williams
11. “King of the Road” – She & Him
12. “I’ll Be Home” – Eleni Mandell
13. “Don’t Let Us Get Sick” – Jackson Browne
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